Research Finds Youngsters Are Drinking Too Much Sugary Drinks

Research Finds Youngsters Are Drinking Too Much Sugary Drinks

It’s shocking that teenagers are drinking the equivalent of a bathtub of sugary drinks a year.

A UK based research has shown that millennial teenagers are drinking an equivalent amount of bath full every year. Cancer Research UK has found out that teenagers aged between 11 to 18 years each drink almost 234 cans of soft drinks per year.

The same research has shown a similar trend to those aged between four and ten. The researchers have found out that members of the younger age group only drink about half as much as their older counterparts. However, with their younger bodies, the damage that their bodies receive can be just as much or worse.

Last March 2017, the Government of UK implemented an additional tax on soft drinks with added sugar. Lower taxes were given to beverages with 5g of sugar per 100ml, while those with more than 8g per 100ml faced a higher rate.

It has been reported that the additional taxes added up to £18 to £24 to the price of a liter of fizzy drink when the full cost is passed on to the consumer.

Juices made with pure fruit extracts were exempted as they do not carry any added sugar. On the other hand, drinks composing of high milk content were also exempted because of the calcium that they contain.

A regular can (330ml) of cola can contain up to 35 grams of sugar. This surpasses the maximum recommended daily intake of sugar for five-year-olds which is 19 grams a day. Children aged 11 and above are only recommended 30 grams of sugar a day, which is still lower than the content of a can of cola.

The data presented by the Cancer Research UK was based on the findings of the National Diet and Nutrition Survey. The research showed that adults and young children consume almost twice the amount of sugar recommended for them to consume every day.

11 to 18-year-olds, on the other hand, have it worse. They are found to consume almost three times the maximum recommended limit of sugar on a daily basis. The same research showed that sugary drinks are the main culprit of this growing problem.

According to Alison Cox, the director of prevention at Cancer Research UK, “It’s shocking that teenagers are drinking the equivalent of a bathtub of sugary drinks a year.

“We urgently need to stop this happening and the good news is that the Government’s sugar tax will play a crucial role in helping to curb this behavior. The ripple effect of a small tax on sugary drinks is enormous, and it will give soft drinks companies a clear incentive to reduce the amount of sugar in drinks.” He added.

“When coupled with the Government’s plan to reduce sugar in processed food, we could really see an improvement to our diets.

“But the Government can do more to give the next generation a better chance, by closing the loophole on junk food advertising on TV before the 9 pm watershed. The UK has an epidemic on its hands, and needs to act now.”

The health research body believes that the imposed tax could help prevent 3.7 million cases of obesity over the next decade. These findings of the research are worsened by the fact that another internationally-based research found out that British children are among the least active youngsters in the world.

With technology making things easier and can be done with a touch of a button, scientists suspect that fitness levels worldwide are taking a dangerous decline. Health practitioners that people must take it upon themselves to get over their sugar addiction.